Influence of constraining and confinement in the molecular mobility of low molecular weight materials

Dissertation presented to obtain a Ph.D. Degree in Chemical PhysicsDespite the importance that the glassy state has nowadays, the transition from liquid to the glass, glass transition, still remains a matter of debate which constitutes one of the great condensed matter physics challenges. Since this fact is closely related to the cooperativity dynamics, the study of this phenomenon in glass-forming liquids under confinement in the nanometer scale, has recently emerged as a strategy to clarify factors such as the existence of an inherent length scale of the cooperative dynamics that determines the glass transition temperature. In this context, this thesis represents an additional contribution to the study of molecular dynamics of glass-forming liquids under confinement in nanoporous inorganic materials. As target compounds the liquid crystal E7 and the drug Ibuprofen were selected. Since the first exhibit various transitions makes it more sensitive to perturbations and thus appears as the ideal candidate to evaluate confinement effects. The study of ibuprofen is of particular interest because confinement emerges as a method of stabilizing the amorphous phase that is mostly important in pharmaceutical applications. Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy(DRS) is the main technique used to obtain detailed information about the molecular mobility in a wide range of frequencies (10-2-109Hz) (Chapter I and II). The first part of the thesis is devoted to the characterization of the two target compounds in the bulk state. The combination of DRS with the specific heat spectroscopy allowed to determine which of the E7 observed relaxation processes (a process in the isotropic phase and two processes in the nematic phase: δ and tumbling) is responsible for the glass transition temperature Tg (tumbling process). Detailed studies of ibuprofen molecular mobility in the liquid, supercooled liquid and glassy states are also presented in this chapter, where four relaxation processes are detected: two secondary processes (γ and β), the cooperative process related to Tg (α ) and the Debye process (D), probably related to the hydrogen bonding dynamics. This study was preceded by an optimization of the conditions to obtain amorphous Ibuprofen which is a crystal in its natural state (Chapter III). In the next chapter (Chapter IV), the molecular dynamics of E7 confined to untreated and phospholipid lecithin treated rigid inorganic membranes with 20 nm pore diameter was evaluated. It was found that both the liquid crystal alignment, as well as the dynamics is influenced by confinement and treatment of the surface pores. Additionally, E7 was further studied confined to the mesoporous materials MCM-41 and SBA-15 type, 100% silica composition and pore size between the 2.8 and 6.8 nm. A multiplicity of relaxation processes was revealed by DRS, including the modes already observed in the bulk E7. In addition, twoFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT),financial support by means of the PhD grant SFRH/BD/23829/200

Compact structure and non-Gaussian Dynamics of ring polymer melts

We present a neutron scattering analysis of the structure and dynamics of PEO polymer rings with a molecular weight 2.5 times higher than the entanglement mass. The melt structure was found to be more compact than a Gaussian model would suggest. With increasing time the center of mass (c.o.m.) diffusion undergoes a transition from sub-diffusive to diffusive behavior. The transition time agrees well with the decorrelation time predicted by a mode coupling approach. As a novel feature well pronounced non-Gaussian behavior of the c.o.m. diffusion was found that shows surprising analogies to the cage effect known from glassy systems. Finally, the longest wavelength Rouse modes are suppressed possibly as a consequence of an onset of lattice animal features as hypothesized in theoretical approache

Thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications of COVID-19 in adults hospitalized in high-income countries compared with those in adults hospitalized in low- and middle-income countries in an international registry

Background: COVID-19 has been associated with a broad range of thromboembolic, ischemic, and hemorrhagic complications (coagulopathy complications). Most studies have focused on patients with severe disease from high-income countries (HICs). Objectives: The main aims were to compare the frequency of coagulopathy complications in developing countries (low- and middle-income countries [LMICs]) with those in HICs, delineate the frequency across a range of treatment levels, and determine associations with in-hospital mortality. Methods: Adult patients enrolled in an observational, multinational registry, the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infections COVID-19 study, between January 1, 2020, and September 15, 2021, met inclusion criteria, including admission to a hospital for laboratory-confirmed, acute COVID-19 and data on complications and survival. The advanced-treatment cohort received care, such as admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, or inotropes or vasopressors; the basic-treatment cohort did not receive any of these interventions. Results: The study population included 495,682 patients from 52 countries, with 63% from LMICs and 85% in the basic treatment cohort. The frequency of coagulopathy complications was higher in HICs (0.76%-3.4%) than in LMICs (0.09%-1.22%). Complications were more frequent in the advanced-treatment cohort than in the basic-treatment cohort. Coagulopathy complications were associated with increased in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.52-1.64). The increased mortality associated with these complications was higher in LMICs (58.5%) than in HICs (35.4%). After controlling for coagulopathy complications, treatment intensity, and multiple other factors, the mortality was higher among patients in LMICs than among patients in HICs (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.39-1.51). Conclusion: In a large, international registry of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, coagulopathy complications were more frequent in HICs than in LMICs (developing countries). Increased mortality associated with coagulopathy complications was of a greater magnitude among patients in LMICs. Additional research is needed regarding timely diagnosis of and intervention for coagulation derangements associated with COVID-19, particularly for limited-resource settings

Characteristics and outcomes of an international cohort of 600 000 hospitalized patients with COVID-19

Background: We describe demographic features, treatments and clinical outcomes in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) COVID-19 cohort, one of the world's largest international, standardized data sets concerning hospitalized patients. Methods: The data set analysed includes COVID-19 patients hospitalized between January 2020 and January 2022 in 52 countries. We investigated how symptoms on admission, co-morbidities, risk factors and treatments varied by age, sex and other characteristics. We used Cox regression models to investigate associations between demographics, symptoms, co-morbidities and other factors with risk of death, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Results: Data were available for 689 572 patients with laboratory-confirmed (91.1%) or clinically diagnosed (8.9%) SARS-CoV-2 infection from 52 countries. Age [adjusted hazard ratio per 10 years 1.49 (95% CI 1.48, 1.49)] and male sex [1.23 (1.21, 1.24)] were associated with a higher risk of death. Rates of admission to an ICU and use of IMV increased with age up to age 60 years then dropped. Symptoms, co-morbidities and treatments varied by age and had varied associations with clinical outcomes. The case-fatality ratio varied by country partly due to differences in the clinical characteristics of recruited patients and was on average 21.5%. Conclusions: Age was the strongest determinant of risk of death, with a ∼30-fold difference between the oldest and youngest groups; each of the co-morbidities included was associated with up to an almost 2-fold increase in risk. Smoking and obesity were also associated with a higher risk of death. The size of our international database and the standardized data collection method make this study a comprehensive international description of COVID-19 clinical features. Our findings may inform strategies that involve prioritization of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who have a higher risk of death

ISARIC-COVID-19 dataset: A Prospective, Standardized, Global Dataset of Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19

The International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) COVID-19 dataset is one of the largest international databases of prospectively collected clinical data on people hospitalized with COVID-19. This dataset was compiled during the COVID-19 pandemic by a network of hospitals that collect data using the ISARIC-World Health Organization Clinical Characterization Protocol and data tools. The database includes data from more than 705,000 patients, collected in more than 60 countries and 1,500 centres worldwide. Patient data are available from acute hospital admissions with COVID-19 and outpatient follow-ups. The data include signs and symptoms, pre-existing comorbidities, vital signs, chronic and acute treatments, complications, dates of hospitalization and discharge, mortality, viral strains, vaccination status, and other data. Here, we present the dataset characteristics, explain its architecture and how to gain access, and provide tools to facilitate its use